Maroon
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An escaped black slave of the Caribbean and the Americas or a descendant of such a person.
"Further north a Maroon community in the Bahoruco Mountains thrived for eighty-five years, until the French proposed a truce under the terms of which the Maroons would be permitted to form an independent clan."
- 2 A rich dark red, somewhat brownish, color. countable, uncountable
"Is it a really dark maroon or a lighter maroon or a maroon that leans toward the red side? Or the magenta side? To address this issue, scientists use something called a color space."
- 3 A rocket-propelled firework or skyrocket, often one used as a signal (for example, to summon the crew of a lifeboat or warn of an air raid).
"On Sunday afternoon a serious firework explosion occurred in Lambeth, whereby three persons were seriously injured. Two lads […] purchased a firework called a “maroon”, which is a bomb consisting of a small ball of string covered with a red composition. It is loaded with gunpowder, and there is also a fuse attached."
- 4 An idiot; a fool. derogatory, slang
"At least, I would not be sleeping that night. Why did I have that espresso? What a maroon!"
- 5 Alternative form of maroon (“descendant of escaped slaves”). alt-of, alternative
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A member of the Queensland State of Origin rugby league team, who wear maroon-coloured jerseys. Australia
- 7 an exploding firework used as a warning signal wordnet
- 8 A castaway; a person who has been marooned.
- 9 a dark purplish-red to dark brownish-red color wordnet
- 10 a person who is stranded (as on an island) wordnet
- 1 To abandon in a remote, desolate place, as on a desert island.
"Hard-hit by the Arctic winter, the Waverley route was completely closed from January 6-9, when an avalanche between Whitrope and Riccarton marooned Class A2 4-6-2 No. 60535 Hornet's Beauty."
- 2 leave stranded on a desert island without resources wordnet
- 3 leave stranded or isolated with little hope of rescue wordnet
- 1 Associated with Maroon culture, communities or peoples. not-comparable
"In her discussion of Michelle Cliff's Abeng, a novel that historicizes maroon culture and the Jamaican warrior heroine Nanny of the Maroons, Francoise Lionnet examines linguistic “metissage” […]"
- 2 Of a maroon color
- 1 of dark brownish to purplish red wordnet
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"If the large maroon turtleneck is too big, do you have it in medium?"
Etymology
From French marron (“feral; fugitive”, adjective), from Spanish cimarrón (“fugitive, wild, feral”); see that entry for more.
Etymology tree Byzantine Greek μάραον (máraon)bor. Italian marronebor. French marronbor. English maroon Borrowed from French marron (“chestnut; brown”). Compare Spanish marrón. Doublet of marron (“sweet chestnut”).
Unknown. Possibly related to the sense “castaway” (etymology 1), or owing to the fact that the color of a fired flare was commonly red (etymology 2).
From an intentional mispronunciation of the word moron used by the cartoon character Bugs Bunny.